'''LXPanel''' is the standard panel of LXDE. The desktop panel can generate a menu for installed applications automatically from *.desktop files. It can be configured from a GUI preferences dialog, so there is no need to edit config files. The component provides a "Run" dialog with autocompletion. As of version 0.7.0, LXPanel has gained theming support via custom <code>gtkrc</code> file.

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| 9 Aug, 2009

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|-

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| '''Frequently updated'''

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| yes

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|-

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| '''Programming language'''

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| C

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|-

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| '''Platform'''

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| Cross-platform, Unix-like

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|-

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| '''Status'''

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| active

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|-

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| '''Genre'''

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| Desktop Panel

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|-

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| '''License'''

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| GNU General Public License

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|-

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| '''Website'''

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| [http://lxde.org lxde.org]

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|}

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The LXPanel, is the standard panel of LXDE. The desktop panel can generate menu for installed applications automatically from *.desktop files. It can be configured from GUI preference dialog, and there is no need to edit config files. The component provides a "Run" dialog with autocompletion.

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== Important notes ==

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* Warning: Although lxpanel is originally derived from fbpanel, they are now almost totally different both in internal implementation and configuration. So, don't use fbpanel config files here or things will break.

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* Basic configuration of LXPanel can be done with the GUI preference configuration dialog. Just right click on the panels, and you can access the config dialog. Please use the GUI instead of directly editing the config files if you don't have very special needs.

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* The format of config files has changed since version 3.5 to support multiple panel layout. Don't mix older config files with newer versions.

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* The config file format was not documented before version 3.7 because it was not yet stabilized. Now, it's documented here.

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=Important Notes=

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=== File Locations ===

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*Warning: Although lxpanel is originally derived from fbpanel, now they are almost totally different both in internal implementation and configuration. So, don't use fbpanel config files here or things will break.

+

* The config files of LXPanel are stored in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile Name>.

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*The basic configuration of LXPanel can be done with GUI preference configuration dialog. Just right click on the panels, and you can access the config dialog. Please use the GUI instead of directly editing the config files if you don't have very special needs.

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* Under LXDE, we use a different profile name - LXDE. So it's in ~/.config/lxpanel/LXDE. In this way, if you changed the config of the panel under LXDE, it won't interfere other desktop environments.

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*The format of config files was changed since version 3.5 to support multiple panel layout. Don't mix older config files with newer versions.

*The config file format was not documented before version 3.7 because it was not yet stabilized. Now, it's documented here.

+

* On a fresh install of LXDE, the "panels" directory may be empty. Entering the Panel Settings/Panel Preferences for the first time will result in the creation of the "panel" file for the default panel.

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==File Locations==

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=== Main Config File ===

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*The config files of LXPanel are stored in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile Name>.

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*Under LXDE, we use a different profile name - LXDE. So it's in ~/.config/lxpanel/LXDE. In this way, if you changed the config of the panel under LXDE, it won't interfere other desktop environments.

*FileManager: file manager used when an applet in lxpanel need to open a folder.

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; FileManager: file manager used when an applet in lxpanel need to open a folder (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses XDG preferences).

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*Terminal: terminal emulator used when an applet needs to popup a terminal window.

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; Terminal: terminal emulator used when an applet needs to popup a terminal window (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses LibFM config).

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*LogoutCommand: program invoked when "Logout" is chosen in the lxpanel menu. Generally, this can be "killall <something>". Under LXDE, you can use "lxde-logout" to logout the session.

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; Logout: program invoked when "Logout" is chosen in the lxpanel menu. Generally, this can be "killall <something>". Under LXDE, you can use "lxde-logout" to logout the session. Warning : prior to lxpanel version 0.5.10 it seems that it was "LogoutCommand" instead of "Logout".

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==Panels==

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=== Panels ===

Files defining the layout of panels are in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile>/panels. Each file in the directory defines a panel. On startup, all panels defined in those files are loaded.

Files defining the layout of panels are in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile>/panels. Each file in the directory defines a panel. On startup, all panels defined in those files are loaded.

The default config file looks like this:

The default config file looks like this:

Line 109:

Line 85:

type = menu

type = menu

Config {

Config {

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# image must be set

image=/usr/share/lxpanel/images/my-computer.png

image=/usr/share/lxpanel/images/my-computer.png

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# name is optional

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# it may be set to the name of a *.directory file in /usr/share/desktop-directories to get a localised label

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# eg. name=lxde-menu-applications.directory

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name=Label

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# tint may be set to an X11 colour name or a hex value,

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# see http://library.gnome.org/devel/gdk/unstable/gdk-Colormaps-and-Colors.html#gdk-color-parse

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# The default is blue; black disables tinting.

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tint=red

system {

system {

}

}

Line 216:

Line 201:

</pre>

</pre>

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==GNOME-Like Two Panel Layout==

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=== Custom menu plugin actions ===

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LXPanel can support multiple-panel layouts. We provide a set of configuration files mimic the default look and feel of gnome-like two-panel layout here.

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Under the Menu plugin entry shown above, custom entries can be added using the action= setting. For example:

If you click on the menu button, but the menu doesn't come up, you can use this little script to fix it:

If you click on the menu button, but the menu doesn't come up, you can use this little script to fix it:

<pre>

<pre>

Line 228:

Line 220:

killall lxpanel

killall lxpanel

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file=`find ~/.cache/menus -name "*" -type f`

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find ~/.cache/menus -name '*' -type f -print0 | xargs -0 rm

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rm ${file}

lxpanel -p LXDE &

lxpanel -p LXDE &

</pre>

</pre>

It will kill lxpanel, delete the current menu cache and start the panel again. Tested with 0.3.99/0.3.999.

It will kill lxpanel, delete the current menu cache and start the panel again. Tested with 0.3.99/0.3.999.

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= Testing LXPanel =

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== Testing LXPanel ==

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Here you can find the special Information for LXPanel. If you want to use the menu plugin within LXPanel, you need to compile applications menu-cache and lxmenu-data too. First compile menu-cache, then lxmenu-data and at last LXPanel. For general information on testing read the [http://wiki.lxde.org/en/Category:Testing Testing] pages.

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Here you can find the special Informations for LXPanel. If you want to use the menu plugin within LXPanel, you need to compile the applications menu-cache and lxmenu-data, too. First compile menu-cache, then lxmenu-data and at last LXPanel. For generally information on testing read the [http://wiki.lxde.org/en/Category:Testing Testing] pages.

It is possible to change the panel appearance to a very minimalist style, similar to tint2, displaying only icons rather than tabs. To do this, open panel settings (e.g. right clicking on the "desktops" part of the panel) and:

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* choose Panel Applets tab

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* from the list, choose "Task Bar (Window List)"

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* click edit

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* to get just the icons against the background of the panel, select both "Icons only" and "Flat buttons"

+

+

"Show tooltips" and "Show windows from all workspaces" options are also available on the Panel Applets tab.

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+

To adjust icon size as well as panel widthand height, see the Geometry tab in settings. The thickness of the bar and the size of the icons are set separately.

Latest revision as of 02:53, 18 April 2019

LXPanel is the standard panel of LXDE. The desktop panel can generate a menu for installed applications automatically from *.desktop files. It can be configured from a GUI preferences dialog, so there is no need to edit config files. The component provides a "Run" dialog with autocompletion. As of version 0.7.0, LXPanel has gained theming support via custom gtkrc file.

Important notes

Warning: Although lxpanel is originally derived from fbpanel, they are now almost totally different both in internal implementation and configuration. So, don't use fbpanel config files here or things will break.

Basic configuration of LXPanel can be done with the GUI preference configuration dialog. Just right click on the panels, and you can access the config dialog. Please use the GUI instead of directly editing the config files if you don't have very special needs.

The format of config files has changed since version 3.5 to support multiple panel layout. Don't mix older config files with newer versions.

The config file format was not documented before version 3.7 because it was not yet stabilized. Now, it's documented here.

File Locations

The config files of LXPanel are stored in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile Name>.

Under LXDE, we use a different profile name - LXDE. So it's in ~/.config/lxpanel/LXDE. In this way, if you changed the config of the panel under LXDE, it won't interfere other desktop environments.

On a fresh install of LXDE, the "panels" directory may be empty. Entering the Panel Settings/Panel Preferences for the first time will result in the creation of the "panel" file for the default panel.

Main Config File

The main config file is named "config", and its format is like this:

[Command]
FileManager=pcmanfm %s
Terminal=xterm -e
LogoutCommand=

FileManager

file manager used when an applet in lxpanel need to open a folder (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses XDG preferences).

Terminal

terminal emulator used when an applet needs to popup a terminal window (only before version 0.7.0, since 0.7.0 it uses LibFM config).

Logout

program invoked when "Logout" is chosen in the lxpanel menu. Generally, this can be "killall <something>". Under LXDE, you can use "lxde-logout" to logout the session. Warning : prior to lxpanel version 0.5.10 it seems that it was "LogoutCommand" instead of "Logout".

Panels

Files defining the layout of panels are in ~/.config/lxpanel/<Profile>/panels. Each file in the directory defines a panel. On startup, all panels defined in those files are loaded.
The default config file looks like this:

It will kill lxpanel, delete the current menu cache and start the panel again. Tested with 0.3.99/0.3.999.

Testing LXPanel

Here you can find the special Information for LXPanel. If you want to use the menu plugin within LXPanel, you need to compile applications menu-cache and lxmenu-data too. First compile menu-cache, then lxmenu-data and at last LXPanel. For general information on testing read the Testing pages.

Icons only

It is possible to change the panel appearance to a very minimalist style, similar to tint2, displaying only icons rather than tabs. To do this, open panel settings (e.g. right clicking on the "desktops" part of the panel) and:

choose Panel Applets tab

from the list, choose "Task Bar (Window List)"

click edit

to get just the icons against the background of the panel, select both "Icons only" and "Flat buttons"

"Show tooltips" and "Show windows from all workspaces" options are also available on the Panel Applets tab.

To adjust icon size as well as panel widthand height, see the Geometry tab in settings. The thickness of the bar and the size of the icons are set separately.